Forgotten Paths
by SlaaaayMe
Summary: There are secrets between the government and some districts. People do illicit things to get what they want. Peeta is a boy who suffers unfair consequences that lead to another path where his life is completely different than what it would've been. Cato is a boy who lacks sympathy but finds it in the boy he meets.
1. Epilogue

**Forgotten Paths**

**Prologue**

The little blond boy ran along the woods, panting from the heavy haul and feeling the damp weather caused by the mass of flora in the area. His cheeks were slightly flushed as he stopped by a tall tree where he could hide. He climbed it up until he reached a long and thick bough where he could sit.

"Peeta, come out already!" He could hear another voice coming from the opposite side from where he was going. "It's been twenty minutes! We must go or our parents will ground us like the other day!" She kept shouting out loud.

As she was passing by, she finally stood at the base of the tree where Peeta sat quietly. "Peeta, please just come out of wherever you're hiding. This isn't funny anymore. We must go. And we can't go any farther from here!"

The girl moved and Peeta could see the back of her head. Her brown hair and her blue outfit matched together along with her tiny figure. He smiled but covered it with his own hand as if it were a secret, even if his friend couldn't see him.

The girl walked downhill and just kept going until his vision lost her image with the dense sight of trees along the trail. He finally decided to go back down using his four limbs to help himself off the tree until he landed on the hard ground. It took him a few minutes to realize that his friend had gone deeper into the forest.

"Katniss! Come back, I'm right here!" He said loudly, but no response was returned.

His little prank on Katniss didn't really work out well. He sprinted to the direction where he thought she headed. After a few minutes, he was exhausted. He didn't find her.

_What am I going to do now?! _He thought, desperate to find his best friend. Luckily there were no ferocious animals nearby yet.

"Katniss! I'm sorry. PLEASE! I'M HERE! Can you hear m-" A blurred shadow seemed to be getting closer and closer within a few seconds of noticing it. The boy felt the rush of adrenaline roam his whole body at the speed of the blink of an eye. He knew that whatever that thing was wasn't amicable to begin with.

The distorted sight of the dark silhouette vanished when he turned on his heel and hid in the nearest bush by him. A bead of sweat formed on his temple, slipping down his cheek until it slid through his jaw line and fell to the ground.

"Where did they go? I saw them both together when they crossed the fence" The voice of a man was heard outside the stash of plants where Peeta laid. He could see bits of the man's body, and next to him the presence of another person. He knew the man wasn't talking to himself.

"You're seeing things, you idiot." Ah, that was it, the other person's voice. It was another man apparently, with a deeper voice than the other man. Both of them had a white suit and were holding a black baton, Peeta could finally see when he moved a tad to his left side to see them properly without making any noise. He peeked through the leaves and branches. He knew what they were; Peacekeepers.

"I'm not an idiot. You're simply rude to everyone. I'm telling you the whole truth. And the last time I saw them they were running right in this direct-"

_Crack_

"Did you hear that?" The cracking noise of a dried branch being stepped on woke the alarming senses of both Peacekeepers. The more dominant of both of them gripped his baton firmly.

Peeta's eyes widened in terror as the Peacekeepers got closer to him. The distance between them wasn't enough to keep his anonymity anymore. He had to run. He crouched and moved to his right until he got out of the mass of green leaves.

_Crrrrack!_

This time it wasn't a slight noise but a loud and crunchy one. Without thinking about it anymore, Peeta ran full speed to wherever the way took him. Both men chased after him. Their outfit slowed them just a bit, but not enough to let the blond boy flee.

"STOP RUNNING! YOU'RE MAKING IT HARDER FOR US!" Peeta didn't know which of them had said that and honestly he didn't even care at that moment. He didn't even know why they were looking for him.

Deeper into the woods, a blue and vast lake came into view. Mud mixed with pebbles adorned the edges of the lake as the water rippled lightly through the shards of rock.

"Katniss! Help me!" The desperation in the boy's voice was enough to let the other men that he was going to give up soon. Peeta's body was shaking; the dusk was getting closer and the temperature was lowering each minute.

He finally stood before the lake. It was a ride-or-die situation now. He had to cross the lake or he wouldn't make it.

With a splash, half of Peeta's body was already inside the water. His clothes were fully wet and there was no going back now. Unluckily, his pursuers weren't more than fifteen feet away.

"That won't help you, you brat." Another splash and the water flowed in all directions. The men's hands took Peeta from his arms and stopped him completely. The boy kicked in mid-air and really tried to free himself at all costs.

"Give him the drug now, asshole!" Peeta's cheeks were pushed inside until he opened his mouth unwillingly. One of them pulled something from his pocket and forced him to swallow a little pill that was shoved inside his mouth almost instantly. The bitter taste that the pill emanated as it disintegrated in his mouth made him frown and want to spit the tablet.

A really strong headache, trembling knees, and the cold sweat that Peeta felt were the last thing he knew about. He felt the world sink down and the sky fall upon him as he saw sheer darkness and nothing more.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The boy's eyes suddenly opened widely. A blinding light attacked his vision and as fast as he could he raised his arm up to his head to prevent the beams from hurting his eyes directly.

Murmurs approached his hearing sense and as his eyes tried to adjust to the lighting and his consciousness to the present, he waited for everything to make sense but his body wouldn't let him.

"This one was a really special offer, huh? Looked like the woman was in a hurry and needy for the money."

Peeta's head was spinning round and round, his body still feeling a bit numb and he couldn't understand a thing that had been said.

"Yeah. I hope Boss gives us a reward for this one. He's gonna be satisfied with this one too. Wonder what he'll do with this one."

The little boy's head throbbed and as he couldn't take it anymore, the numbness of his body let him fall unconscious once again without him remotely knowing about it.

**~—~—~—~—~—~**

A gentle push on Peeta's arm is what made him react and wake up from his slumber in a second. He gasped for air and his body propped up with the help of his elbows. His vision was restored and his body didn't feel numb anymore. He did feel confused, though; very, very confused.

His head turned to look at the person beside him. A pair of green eyes glistened in the dark room and they were staring deeply into Peeta's brown eyes.

"You're awake," The other boy said almost enthusiastically, actually in a very cheerful voice but still kind of in a serious tone.

Peeta was so lost. _Where am I? Where is my family? What am I doing here?_ His thoughts rushed inside his head a million miles per hour.

"Who are you? Where's Katniss? Where are my parents?" Peeta's eyes began getting watery and his body trembled in fear. The other boy, in return, kept looking steadily at Peeta almost pitifully. Peeta had to bring his hands up to rub off the tears that shed from his eyes.

The green-eyed boy reached Peeta's shoulder in an attempt of consolation. Peeta was utterly confused and just wanted to go home. He wanted to be peacefully in his bed with his favorite blanket on top of him and his pillow supporting comfortably his head.

"You're going to be oka—"

A loud, thunderous noise blasted when a door was slammed open. Two men came in rapidly. One of them took hold of Peeta without hesitating and the other approached the other boy.

"Don't do anything to him! He's my friend!" The boy yelled in anger as the man took both of his arms with no effort at all and led him to the door.

"Cato, we abide the Boss's orders. He doesn't concern you. You shouldn't have been here in the first place," The man holding him said.

The blond boy— Cato— tried kicking and letting himself free but his actions were useless, he was too small for the bulky man. Just as he was dragged out of the room, he turned his head to give Peeta a look, a look of something Peeta couldn't decipher. Everything was happening too fast at that moment, and in a second, Cato was out of sight together with the man.

The tall man standing next to Peeta pulled from his arm and triggering Peeta's senses, especially the feeling of pain and more specifically on his arm. The man led Peeta out of the room as well and began to walk on a haphazard way. They were going so fast that Peeta couldn't keep up to the man's pace and his body lurched forward by each pull when he stayed way behind.

The corridor in which they were walking through was wide and dark—just like the room they were just in—there were windows but they were way too high on the wall to be reached and looked through. The light that came in was basically dim and the place could give anyone the creeps.

At some point, the corridors became wider and a two-door entrance appeared right in front of them as they got closer. There were more doors and embranchments in the same huge room they were, but the man halted when he stood right in front of the huge doors. It took a moment to open them and go inside the other room.

"Boss, I brought you the new freight. There hadn't been one in weeks and for a good price too," The man said in a hurried voice.

Peeta's stomach churned when he saw the man behind the desk. He had a huge X scar under one of his eyes and the man per se was a huge mass of muscles. He was ripped and tall as well. His hair was short but it was as dark as the night itself. His outfit in general was everything black and his use of leather was probably excessive.

"How much?"

"'bout five grand, boss. The woman looked desperate."

Peeta couldn't be more confused than what he was anymore. Woman? What woman? Nothing made sense to him in the least.

The man behind the desk smirked slyly. His thumb and index finger touched his own chin in a thoughtful way, "He could be good as a prostitute, couldn't he?"

Peeta's eyes' widened. His heart pounded in his chest loudly, so loudly that he could hear it without even focusing. His blood raced through his veins and his hands were sweaty within seconds. He could not believe what he just heard.

"Yes, sir. He's a really pretty boy. I could eat him up if I had the opportunity."

That was it. Peeta did not think about it twice, he made his way out of the room and sought for a way out of that place.

Unluckily for him, he had no idea where he was going and a very big man was now chasing after him. Peeta ran as fast as he could, making turns in hallways. He did not see a single person walk around since he got there and he was relieved by that, yet that didn't change the fact that he was being pursued.

"Stop right there, kiddo! I won't hurt you! There is no way out of this place!" The voice of the man got closer by the second.

Peeta couldn't run anymore, he was exhausted and he needed to catch his breath.

Peeta's heart sunk when he felt someone grasping his hand. Taking him by surprise, it wasn't the big man; it was the same boy, Cato. The boy took Peeta into a room nearby, closing the door behind them.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Peeta was speechless. Why was this happening to him? He did not know. He was out of breath and needed to sit down to regain himself. Still, he did not answer what the other boy said.

"I asked you. Are you okay?" The boy's voice changed drastically. It scared Peeta. It was more forceful than needed.

Peeta had no other option but to nod. He sat down and leaned his back on the wall. Slowly, he pressed his legs up to his chest and clasped his hands to secure them around both legs. Tears welled from his tears once again.

The sorrowful sobs took place but he tried so hard not to cry. He did not want to cry. No matter how hard it was. His mother always told him to stay quiet and to not cry, ever. She told him that it made him weak. Peeta did not want to remember that.

"Hey, I'm sorry."

Peeta did not pay attention at all. He was too sad to even listen to the boy. He kept sobbing and hiding his face with his legs.

"My name is Cato."

Peeta did actually hear that. Actually, the boy got closer to him and was kneeling beside him, he felt his presence. He decided to look up and fix himself by getting whipping his tears off with the hem of his shirt.

When he finished, Cato offered him a hand. Peeta did not know what for, but he took it anyway. Both hands shook up and down.

"And your name is…" Cato asked.

Peeta totally forgot about that, his mind was in the gutter.

"I'm Peeta."

Cato smiled. Peeta liked his smile. It made him feel welcome.

"Peeta…" Cato repeated and paused after, "That's a really nice name."

After the mess that had been going on, Peeta felt happy knowing that he had a new friend, or at least he thought Cato was his friend.

"How old are you?" Cato asked once again.

"I'm eleven. And you?"

"Fourteen." Cato did not stop smiling, not even once.

Both boys stayed in silence for about a minute until Cato stood up and helped Peeta up.

"C'mon. You should get some sleep. I need to hide you here or else my dad will find you. You'll be safe here."

Cato showed Peeta the room. Apparently it wasn't Cato's room but he explained to Peeta that this was the nearest room when they were outside running from the big guy.

"That guy from outside is your dad?"

Cato snickered when he heard Peeta ask that. "Are you kidding? That one outside is one of his guards. My dad has a scar on his face, though."

Peeta froze and look into Cato's eyes. "Your d-dad i-is…"

"Oh, so you saw him. Yeah, he's pretty scary in my opinion, but I'm tougher than him, don't worry."

Peeta laughed at the comment. He knew it was sarcasm.

"C'mon, hop into bed. We can share. They won't find us, I promise."

Both boys got into bed in just a few seconds and got inside the covers, pulling the quilt over them. Peeta did feel tired after that long chase and after that one guy dragged him against his will.

He just wanted to forget where he was and enjoy the tranquility he was having with his new-made friend.

* * *

**N/A: OKAY WHEW. Thanks for the reviews guys! And please review if you haven't because they do keep me going tbh! So... I am sorry if there are any mistakes or typos and I hope you're liking this so far. So thank you for reading! It makes me happy. :)**

**SEE YOU SOOOOOON, I HOPE.**


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